Juries

Tweeted Photo of Juror Leads to Mistrials

One of the downsides of instant communication in the courtroom.

Topeka Capital Journal: Juror photo leads to Tabor mistrial

The Shawnee County District Attorney's office plans to reschedule a Topeka murder case after a reporter's Tweeted photo led to a mistrial Wednesday.

Opening statements began Tuesday in the trial of 20-year-old Austin Tabor, who is charged with shooting and killing 20-year-old Matthew Mitchell near Topeka West High School in 2010. The trial came to an abrupt halt Wednesday morning because of a photo posted online by a Capital-Journal reporter who live-Tweeted the trial's opening day.

"One of the photos apparently showed one or more of the jurors," the district attorney's spokesman, Lee McGowan, said. "It was brought to the court's attention and ultimately a mistrial was declared"....to continue reading go here.

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Strangest Excuse Ever Offered By A Juror

If you have a good one, the ABA Journal wants to hear it.

Selecting the Rutgers Jury

ABC News: Rutgers Jury: How They Were Chosen

...In helping to select the jury for the defense, Joshua Dubin, a nationally renowned lawyer and legal consultant, told ABC News that he hoped that the younger jurors can "educate the rest of the jury" about the mechanics of Twitter, Facebook, and iChat since several pieces of key evidence involve Ravi's online posts about viewing his roommate on his webcam.

The defense team also sought jurors who would not be afraid of public backlash if they came to a "not guilty" verdict in a case that has captured the nation's attention. Dubin cited the controversial 2011 Casey Anthony acquittal as a recent example of the pressures a juror might face.

To protect the privacy of the jurors during the course of the trial, courtroom police were concerned about any cameras raised in the direction of the jury box and did not permit spectators to raise their cell phones above waist level. One journalist was escorted out of the courtroom for doing so and had her photos reviewed by police...to continue reading go here.

Getting More Jurors to the Courthouse

On March 28th, Prof. Esterling of the University of California at Riverside will be discussing the results of an article he recently co-wrote: "GOTJ: Get Out the Juror."  According to the findings of the article, individuals are more likely to report to jury duty if they receive a reminder postcard informing them of the possible penalties for failing to show up.  The article also determined that postcards were superior to other methods of yielding greater citizen participation in jury duty.  This is because postcard reminders are cost-effective and less-intrusive than say having the sheriff knock on doors.

Older Jurors Tougher on Criminal Defendants

New paper by Shamena Anwar, Patrick Bayer, Randi Hjalmarsson (A Fair and Impartial Jury? Role of Age in Jury Selection and Trial Outcomes) examining the impact of age on juror decision making.

h/tip Freakonomics Blog

[P]rosecutors are more likely to use their peremptory challenges to exclude younger members of the jury pool, while defense attorneys exclude older potential jurors. Having established that age has an important role in jury selection, the paper employs a research design that isolates the effect of the random variation in the age composition of the pool of eligible jurors called for jury duty to examine the causal impact of age on trial outcomes. Consistent with the jury selection patterns, the empirical evidence implies that older jurors are indeed more likely to convict.

Prospective Juror Knows Defense Counsel

Detroit Free Press: In Hutaree Militia Case, Potential Juror Poses Legal Question

The defense and prosecution in the Hutaree militia case are stumped over a novel issue that surfaced during jury selection today: one of the potential jurors was once represented by a defense lawyer in the case.

The juror – who was placed in the jury pool anyway – is a retired Detroit police officer who years ago fired her weapon, while off duty, at a suspect who had robbed her while on her way to work.

Turns out, the lawyer who helped her prepare a statement for internal affairs at the DPD was Michael Rataj, who is now representing Tina Stone, one of the seven Hutaree suspects charged with plotting a violent overthrow of the government that involved killing a police officer and bombing a funeral.

“In 23 years, I’ve never had this come up,” said Rataj, who was quick to recognize the juror and report it to the judge and prosecution.

The juror, who took a minute to recognize Rataj, said she saw no conflict of interest in her serving on the jury, and, that she would not favor the defense because of her brief encounter with Rataj.

Neither side objected to advancing the woman into the jury pool, despite that she’s a retired police officer, and the case centers around claims that the Hutaree militia members plotted to kill police officers.

The defense team, meanwhile, said it would research the jury selection issue to make sure no legal, professional or ethical boundaries get crossed if the woman stays on the jury.

U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts cautioned both sides to make sure nothing backfires should she end up in the final jury panel.

“An appealable issue based on this just isn’t worth it,” Roberts said...to continue reading go here.

NJ Prosecutors Seeking Information on Prospective Jurors

Prosecutors in Essex County, New Jersey believe that some prospective jurors are less than honest when asked about their criminal records.  Thus, the top prosecutor in the county last week asked a trial judge to start releasing the birth dates of prospective jurors so that prosecutors could check their criminal record. 

Researching or investigating jurors is not a new concept (see for example the trial of Bruno Hauptmann which occurred in New Jersey), however, over time the practice had fallen out of favor with most.  In the Digital Age, the practice has been resurrected.  With so much personal information on the Internet, attorneys are increasingly going online to investigate or monitor jurors.  In fact, at least one jurisdiction (Missouri) requires attorneys to run basic searches on jurors if those attorneys want to later raise a claim of juror misconduct.  Investigations help remove untruthful and biased jurors and increase the likelihood that jurors will follow the court's instructions. Thus, it appears to me that this request by the NJ prosecutors should be granted. 

Breastfeeding Moms Serving Jury Duty

Patch.com: POLL: Should Breastfeeding Moms be Exempt from Serving on Juries

This article discusses pending legislation (HB 4691) in the state of Michigan that would exempt breastfeeding moms from jury service.  The article is also interested in receiving feedback from others on HB 4691.

Delaware Attempting to Limit Right to Jury Trial for Certain Misdemeanors

Washington Examiner: Delaware justices weigh constitutionality of bills

"The state Supreme Court is weighing the constitutionality of two bills that Delaware lawmakers passed in an effort to make the court system more efficient. The high court heard arguments Thursday in response to Gov. Jack Markell's request for an advisory opinion on the constitutionality of the measures, which he has yet to sign.

The measures aim to eliminate jury trials for routine motor vehicle cases, which backers say would reduce congestion in the court system and allow more serious criminal cases to be heard in a timely fashion.

The bills, if signed, would limit the ability of defendants charged with certain minor traffic offenses to have their cases heard by juries or "law-trained" judges, and, in some cases, to appeal..." to continue reading go here.

Gingrich: Juries Should Decide Which Illegal Aliens Stay

Despite disagreeing with most of his proposals, I have to acknowledge that the former Speaker of House, Newt Gingrich takes a very unique approach to tackling some of the more vexing issues of our time.  First he spoke out against Child Labor laws now he is suggesting that citizen juries (similar to draft boards) be allowed to decide whether an illegal alien can stay in this country.

Washington Post (blog): Gingrich: Citizen juries should decide which illegal immigrants stay or go